Trash wave Indonesian surfer Dede Surinaya catches a wave in a remote but garbage-covered bay on Java, Indonesia, the world’s most populated island Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans.

Dead bird On Midway Atoll, far from the centres of world commerce, an albatross, dead from ingesting too much plastic, decays on the beach – it is a common sight on the remote island Photograph: Chris Jordan